Brent Key’s December extension included $1.1M raise for 2025 season

The terms of Key’s extended contract end Dec. 31, 2029. It includes bonuses that can reach a max of $1,375,000 and those bonuses include reaching and/or winning the ACC championship game, reaching and/or winning a bowl game, reaching a New Year’s Six Bowl game or qualifying for the College Football Playoff. Key would be in line to receive a $800,000 bonus for winning the national championship.

Should the Georgia Tech Athletic Association terminate Key’s contract in 2025, it would pay Key 100% of his remaining unpaid contract. That percentage drops to 70% in 2026, 60% in 2027 and 50% in 2028 or 2029.

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

Credit: Bob Andres/AJC

J Batt, hired by Tech in October 2022, had his contract extended to Dec. 31, 2029. Batt began to receive an annual salary of $979,000 on Jan. 1. It is scheduled to increase by $100,000 annually each Jan. 1 through 2029, at which time Batt’s annual salary would total $1,379,000.

“The Director of Athletics must maintain a strong performance on all performance evaluation standards established at the beginning of this Contract Year as evaluated by the President of Georgia Tech in December of 2024, and in accordance with Section 10 of the Agreement, remains in compliance with the applicable constitutions, bylaws, laws, policies, rules, regulations, and/or enforcement structures of and governing Georgia Tech and its employees, the Association, the NCAA, and the ACC, as now constituted or as they may be amended during the Term hereof,” the contract states. “In the event the Director of Athletics meets the aforementioned conditions during the applicable period and remains employed through December 31, 2024, then GTAA shall pay the Director of Athletics a one-time, pro-rated payment in the amount of $100,000.00, on or before January 31, 2025.”

Should Batt’s contract be terminated at any time before or on Dec. 31, 2029, Batt would be owed, “any earned but unpaid compensation, any earned but unpaid performance incentive payments, and any unreimbursed travel expenses through the effective date of termination; and as liquidated damages, 60% of all remaining unpaid Base Salary and Supplemental Compensation amounts which would have been paid to Director of Athletics through December 31, 2029.”

Batt’s original contract, running until 2027, gave him an annual salary of $750,000, and he received a signing bonus of $50,000.

A North Carolina graduate, Batt has ushered in a new era during a tumultuous time in college athletics. Tech hired Key to coach the football program and Damon Stoudamire to lead the men’s basketball program, struck a sponsorship deal with Hyundai to rename the football stadium Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, helped created Tech football’s pregame party “Helluva Block Party” and created a new executive associate athletic director for player management role within the athletics department during Batt’s tenure.

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Tech and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, the school’s fundraising arm, launched the Full Steam Ahead campaign in October. The $500 million fundraising initiative includes projects to renovate Bobby Dodd Stadium and the Zelnak Basketball Center.

In November, Batt was appointed chairman of the board of the College Football Hall of Fame. In March, Batt was named as part of a settlement implementation committee to oversee the process of the responsibility for its implementation and enforcement of the proposed settlement in the House v. NCAA.